LULU Biography Page LULU - The Biography Lulu was born Marie McDonald McLaughlin Lawrie, on November 3rd, 1948, the eldest of a family of four, in Lennox Castle, Lennoxtown, Glasgow - the daughter of a local butcher. She started singing almost immediately. She made her first public appearance singing at the tender age of 4 at a Coronation Party - "From then on, I used to go in for talent competitions on my own," she adds. At Whitehill School in Glasgow, she was always in trouble for singing during lessons. At the age of 14, Lulu joined a local group - The Gleneagles - and started playing club engagements in and around Glasgow and Edinburgh. Each Sunday evening, the group with Lulu in tow as lead singer, played at The Lindella Club - a Glasgow discotheque, for a pound a night each. On one particular cold Glaswegian evening at The Lindella, Lulu was discovered singing by Marion Massey, who later became her manager and mentor and who guided her to stardom. Says Lulu: "When I was fourteen, I was very lucky.

I was discovered - to use a terrible term - by a person who was absolutely sincere. Since I was five, people had been coming up to me saying: 'Stick with me, baby, and I'll make you a star'. In fact, nobody ever did anything for me. Then Marion came along". And Marion takes up the story: "She (Lulu) looked so peculiar that first time I saw her. Her hair was in curlers underneath a fur beret. She had a terrible cold, was very pale and wore three jumpers. But I was very intrigued by her. It wasn't her singing; there was something tremendously magnetic about this girl. I knew she had the makings of a great star." She was right and set about proving it. Marion Massey signed Lulu and her group to a management contract and took them to London to record. But first she decided the time was right to change her protégée's name, and came up with the perfect answer: Marie McDonald McLaughlin Lawrie became Lulu. The group's name changed, too, from The Gleneagles to The Luvvers.

In actual fact, Columbia (EMI) turned down Lulu and The Luvvers, the first record company they approached for a deal, but no matter. Within weeks, they were signed up by Decca and made their first single, 'Shout', a raw version of the old Isley Brothers US hit of 1959, which Lulu had enthused over when she heard Alex Harvey singing it several months before. Lulu's own handling of the song moved one eminent rock journalist to write: "It is still probably the best rock 'n' roll performance by a woman in the history of British pop." When it was released in the spring of 1964, it became a smash hit and launched Lulu on the road to stardom. 'Shout' went on to take the British Singles Chart by storm and finally reached No.7. What followed next, through 1964 and 1965, was an outstanding assault on the world's hit parades by the newly acclaimed singing star, with a succession of classic singles: 'Here Comes The Night', 'Leave A little Love' and 'Try To Understand' (all British Single Chart Hits).

She consolidated her success with a string of top television and radio appearances, and concert engagements all over the country. It paid dividends, too. By the end of 1965, she was voted 'Britain's Most Promising Newcomer In Showbusiness' by the highly influential rock newspaper Melody Maker. It was the first of many honours. 1966 proved a memorable year in Lulu's career, although it was the year that finally saw her parting company from her backing band The Luvvers. Besides a hectic round of TV and radio appearances in Britain and Europe, she also undertook major concert tours; with The Hollies to Poland - to become the first British girl singing star - ever to perform behind the Iron Curtain - followed by a lengthy British tour with Roy Orbison and The Walker Brothers. She also switched record labels, too, from Decca to Columbia - ironically the company that turned her down two years before - and joined forces with producer Mickie Most, whose stable at that time included The Animals, Donovan, and Herman's Hermits.

Lulu also finished the year on another high note, when she starred in the pantomime 'Babes In The Wood' at the Wimbledon Theatre and won rave reviews from the press. However, the undoubted highlight of that year came in the spring, when she signed to star in her first movie - playing the part of cheeky 'Barbara Pegg' - in 'To Sir With Love', alongside Sidney Poitier.She was great, too, and once again was acclaimed by the Press for her performance when the movie was released in April 1967, and later on went to break box-office records all over America. She completely justified the faith put into her by the film's writer, producer and director James Clavell, who said at the time: "This girl has a naturalness, a straightforward quality coupled with a really exciting personality, A very important movie quality indeed". He said it all. If 1966 proved a major turning point in Lulu's career, then the following year certainly consolidated all her success, and established a marvellous pattern.

She enjoyed three major hit singles - 'The Boat That I Row', 'Let's Pretend' and 'Love Loves To Love Love' - and also signed for her first BBC Television series called 'Three Of A Kind' (with Mike Yarwood and Ray Fell). In the summer, she embarked on a massive tour of America, appearing on such top-rating programmes as 'The Ed Sullivan Show', 'David Frost Show', 'Johnny Carson Show', and many many more. Back in Britain, she appeared in concert in London with the Monkees, then at the height of their outstanding careers, - and stopped the show. Then in November, she was chosen to appear in The Royal Variety Show at the celebrated London Palladium, one of the highest personal accolades in British showbusiness. That's not all. 'To Sir With Love' shot to the very top of the American Singles Chart to give Lulu a unique distinction in International showbusiness. She was the only non- American female singer- ever to have topped the US Singles Chart for five weeks, and at that time only one of five British female singers to have topped the chart.

Lulu joined this elite band in 1967 when 'To Sir With Love' - the title song from her debut movie appearance - was released as a single and within weeks, it was sitting at the very pinnacle of the US Chart. The record stayed there for five weeks and by November 1967 had sold a million copies. In all, the record-making single went on to sell nearly 4,000,000 copies worldwide. It was a remarkable feat for the lovely green-eyed singing star: it was the first time in recording history that a US hit by a British artist was never given a domestic release, even though it was a No1, but then, Lulu has been breaking records and making International showbusiness history ever since. Lulu's success Stateside was completed in 1968, when she was voted 'The Most Promising Female Vocalist Of The Year', after playing a series of barnstorming engagements, with appearances at the Coconut Grove in Hollywood, where 'Variety' headlined: 'Lulu's A Winner' and the Los Angeles Examiner called her 'a singing sensation', and Miami's Diplomat Hotel.

Domestically, she completed two more television series for BBC TV - 'Lulu's Back In Town' and Happening To Lulu'; made her debut at Europe's premier nightspot, The Talk Of The Town, in London; and appeared in concert and cabaret engagements all over the country. She also picked up a bevy of prestigious newspaper awards: 'Britain's Top Girl Singer', 'Best Dressed Girl', 'Miss Valentine' (an award she was to win again in 1969 and 1970), and 'Top TV Artiste', presented by the top pop music paper Disc, and she was voted 'The World's Top Female Singer Of The Year' by the renowned New Musical Express. There were hit records, too, with 'Me The Peaceful Heart', 'Boy' and 'I'm A Tiger' all high in the singles chart and Lulu was still only twenty. The turn of 1969 saw Lulu hitting the headlines once more when, on February 18th, she married Maurice Gibb of The Bee Gees in a blaze of publicity and riotous crowd scenes outside the Buckinghamshire church where the ceremony took place.

Unfortunately, the marriage was to last four years, before ending in divorce. Career-wise, however, she was at the height of her success and living up to her position as 'Britain's Top Girl Singer'. For in March of that year, she clocked up another distinguished first, when she was chosen to represent Great Britain in the Eurovision Song Contest - and singing 'Boom Bang-A-Bang', walked off with joint first prize. It was a tremendous achievement - she was only the second British singer to capture the coveted prize. Lulu summed up her feelings in one word; "Fantastic". It was the right word, too, because within a matter of days 'Boom Bang-A-Bang' went to the top of the singles charts all over Europe, selling well through-out the world and gave Lulu one of her biggest chart success back here in Britain, when it finally reached No.2. If that wasn't enough for one year, the BBC also signed her for yet another television series. Internationally, too, 1969 proved highly productive with top television appearances in America and a further Stateside cabaret appearance at the noted Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas, where Entertainment World summed up her performance by simply saying 'Dynamic Lulu'.

The US connection was completed some months later, when she recorded for the fist time in America, resulting in the release of a brand new album for Atco, produced by Gerry Wexler, called 'New Routes', and from which her last British single of the 60's - 'Oh Me Oh My (I'm A Fool For You Baby)' - was taken. The United States was still very much to the fore for our wee Scottish lassie as the 60's ebbed and flowed in to the 70's and she made regular trips across the Atlantic for TV and concerts appearances. In 1970, she embarked on a tremendous trans-American tour with Englebert Humperdink and also took time out from her heavy schedule to co-host television's 'Andy Williams Show' with singer Ray Stevens. At home in Britain, she notched up yet another BBC TV series and starred in the television 'special' "Cucumber Castle", which was later screened all over the world. Again she completed the year by picking up yet another hatful of top showbusiness accolades - 'Top Female Singer' and 'Best Dressed Female Star'.

The story continued very much on the same level throughout the 1970's with Lulu sitting very much at the top of her chosen tree of success, a super-talent and every inch the superstar - winning bouquets of applause from critics and audiences alike all over the world. It was never ending. Highlights of that outstanding and highly successful decade included tours of Britain, American, Australia, New Zealand and the Far East. Many more top-rating BBC TV series including 'It's Lulu' (in which she co-starred with Dudley Moore), 'Lulu's Party' and 'The Les Dawson Show', she shared top billing with the British comedian, a further show-stopping season at London's 'Talk Of The Town' and a triumphant return to Las Vegas to star at 'The Rivera Hotel'. She was also chosen as a subject on television's 'This Is Your Life' at age 23. There were more accolades, too - in 1972 she starred in the perennial 'Peter Pan' in the Christmas presentation of J.M.

Barrie's classic play, in Manchester, in which she broke all box office records which had stood for 60 years, and repeated the role - to high acclaim - at the London Palladium in 1975, the same year she was voted 'Best Groomed Female TV Personality', by the National Hairdresser's Federation. Then in 1974 - after a five-year absence from the UK Charts - she hit the jackpot once again with 'The Man Who Sold The World', written and produced by David Bowie. It proved not only to be a hit, but one of Lulu's biggest record successes, reaching No 3 in the chart. It was a welcome and triumphant return. A year later, Lulu was back with another hit with 'Take Your Mama For A Ride'. Since then Lulu has more than consolidated her exciting career and fulfilled all her early promise, with a string of International concert, cabaret and television appearances. However, the schedule was interrupted in 1976 when she married top London Hairdresser, John Frieda. Their son, Jordan, was born in June 1977.

During 1980, besides playing numerous guest television engagements, Lulu also made several appearances on ATV's rock 'n' roll show, 'Oh Boy', which proved so successful that a brand new series, 'Let's Rock', was virtually constructed around her immense talents. The 24-show series was screened in the autumn of that year all over America and throughout the rest of the world. To coincide with the series, Lulu recorded a new album - 'The Very Best Of Lulu' - featuring all of her hit singles of the 60's and 70's and a few new tracks. Now in her third decade as a major singing star and entertainer, the delightful Lulu has certainly become one of an elite band of international stars with a track record second to none. In the USA, she enjoyed more chart success with hit singles such as 'I Could Never Miss You (More Than I Do), 'If I Were You' and the Grammy nominated track 'Who's Foolin' Who', and two exciting albums, 'Lulu' and 'Take Me To Your Heart Again', and she has appeared on all major American TV shows.

In Britain, she starred in two BBC TV Specials, 'Lulu' and 'The Vocal Touch', hosted her own series, 'Some You Win', and, made regular appearances on a wide range of shows and series, including 'Big Top Variety', 'The Bob Hope Classic', 'Bruce Forsyth Show', and many many more. At the beginning 0f 1987, she appeared as 'Pauline', Adrian Mole's mother, in the top-rating series, 'The Growing Pains Of Adrian Mole', which was screened on the full ITV network; in the summer of 1988, during her starring season at the Bournemouth International Centre, she was featured as special guest star for the entire series of the TVS Networked show, 'Summertime Special'. Lulu also presented her own radio series for London's Capital Radio called 'Sunday Best', and in 1988, she hosted BBC Radio 2's 'Ken Bruce Show' for a short season.

During the 80's she also enjoyed great success on the West End stage and has appeared in several major shows: in the summer of 1983, she starred to great acclaim in the hit Andrew Lloyd-Webber musical, 'Song And Dance', at the Palace Theatre, and two years later scored another huge personal success in the role of 'Adelaide' in the award-winning National Theatre production of 'Guys And Dolls' at the Prince Of Wales Theatre. She returned to the London stage in May 1987 to star in the hit Broadway musical, 'The Mystery Of Edwin Drood' at the Savoy, followed in the autumn, by a starring appearance in another American Show, 'Peter Pan - The Musical', which was staged at the Cambridge Theatre for a short season. Another outstanding career highlight came in November 1986 when her first book, 'Lulu - Her Autobiography', was published by Granada Books. The following summer, a brand new version of her 1964 hit single, 'Shout', was released on Jive Records.

It proved another tremendous success, emulating the impact of the original record over twenty years before, and stormed into the British charts to peak at No.8. Lulu's musical achievements were duly recognised and honoured in October 1987 by the British Academy Of Songwriters, Composers and Authors, with the award of their Gold Badge Of Merit for her services to the British Music Industry. Following the earlier success of 'Peter Pan -The Musical' in the West End during the winter of 1987, Lulu recreated the title role once again a year later with a Christmas season at the Wimbledon Theatre as part of a short British Theatre tour which also took in the early months of 1989. In April, the Variety Club Of Great Britain honoured her with a tribute luncheon in London, to celebrate her twenty-five years in showbusiness. The luncheon, took place at The Café Royal, was later televised by the BBC. During the summer, she starred in a series of Sunday concert engagements at the Bournemouth International Centre, followed by an extensive British concert tour in her own exciting show - 'Lulu -Red Hot Tour'.

On television, she won critical acclaim for her portrayal of the character 'Gossamer Trouble' in 'Perfect Scoundrels', for TVS, screened on the full ITV network. Lulu also managed to complete a series of international engagements in America, Europe and Australia through this busy 1980's period. Well if you thought that by this time Lulu had done it all you'd be wrong. Lulu was to come into her own in the 1990's. Lulu took time out from television and started to concentrate on recording once again, it all came to fruition in 1993, when Lulu released her first single in years and immediately took the charts by storm yet again. 'Independence' was the single and reached No 11 in the singles chart, which was followed by the album of the same name, and received critical acclaim from the music press. The 'Independence' album was a mixture of disco pop with a flavour of classic soul sounds and R&B. The mix worked well and reaped rewards and gained the No.1 Dance Chart spot and entered the American Dance Chart. It was all happening.

The follow up single 'I'm Back For More', which Lulu duetted with soul legend Bobby Womack, and again hit the charts, more hits followed and then came the biggie. Lulu had started songwriting and one of the first songs that she had written was picked to be recorded by none other than Tina Turner. 'I Don't Wanna Fight' was an enormous success both for Tina and Lulu, it was a smash hit all over the world and was nominated for a Grammy. Lulu herself won acclaim for the song and was nominated in the Ivor Novello Awards as songwriter, and won a BMI award. 1993 ended on a really high note when Lulu was teamed up with the then teen sensation, Take That and recorded 'Relight My Fire', this was a pairing that seemed unlikely on paper but on record it worked. The result was Lulu's first UK No.1 Single. Times had never been busier for Lulu and this was only the beginning. During this time Lulu took time to appear on 'French & Saunders' and the award winning 'Absolutely Fabulous', plus a tour with Take That.

Hit singles followed, too, this time Lulu was recording her own songs, 'Goodbye Baby And Amen' and 'Every Woman Knows' kept Lulu in the UK Charts in 1994. Lulu as songwriter was also seeing her work recorded by other artists Wynonna, of The Judds, recorded a song and got Lulu a BMI Country Award. Other artists who recorded songs have been Dana Dawson and Kavana. Lulu then worked on her songwriting to produce an album of her own songs, still to be released, but in 1999 a taster was given with the hit single 'Hurt Me So Bad', a great song sung with great meaning and feeling, the lady was singing her own words about her own life and you knew it. During this time Lulu also recorded with Elton John, on his 'Aida' album. The song on this album was 'The Messenger' which truly shows off Lulu's vocal to its full potential and in her forth decade can still cut it with the rest of the chart contenders.

Lulu once again hit the charts with yet another of her own compositions "Where The Poor Boys Dance" saw her hit the Top 30, reaching No 24 in the UK chart, and giving her the distinction of being on Top Of The Pops in the 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's and in the year 2000. Lulu also had a first in the summer of 2000, when she took to the stage at her fist ever festival, and it was back home in Scotland, when she played to new breed of fans at the annual Music Festival, 'T In The Park', and was rated in the press as 'One of the best performances of the festival' and one paper even said 'Lulu showed the young ones how it should be done'. Lulu was a hit, and she herself enjoyed the day.

On a personal level Lulu 's career was to take on a new aspect as she was then awarded the O.B.E., in June 2000, in the Queen's Birthday Honours List, for her contribution to the Entertainment Industry, and a further honour was to come in December 2000, when Lulu was given a Doctorate Of Music by The University Of Westminster. Lulu is in her fourth decade as a major international star and she has a new album of duets due to be released in May 2002. Billy T - 2001 Lulu - Shout - YouTube Lulu - Shout Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later.

Uploaded on Jul 15, 2011 Lulu Kennedy-Cairns, OBE (born Marie McDonald McLaughlin Lawrie, 3 November 1948, Lennoxtown, East Dunbartonshire, which was then in Stirlingshire), best known by her stage name Lulu, is a Scottish singer, actress, and television personality who has been successful in the entertainment business from the 1960s through to the present day. She is famous for the title song from the James Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun, in North America for the film theme "To Sir, with Love" and in the UK for her first hit "Shout" and her Eurovision Song Contest winning entry "Boom Bang-a-Bang". Lulu grew up in Dennistoun, Glasgow, where she attended Thomson Street Primary School and Onslow Drive Junior School. She lived in Gallowgate for a while before moving to Garfield Street. At the age of 12 or 13 she and her manager approached a band called the Bellrocks seeking stage experience as a singer.

She appeared with them every Saturday night: Alex Thomson, the group's bass player, has reported that even then her voice was unbelievable. Under the wing of Marion Massey, she was signed to Decca Records and at the age of fifteen her version of The Isley Brothers' "Shout", delivered in a raucous but mature voice, reached the UK charts. Massey guided her career for more than 25 years, for most of which time they were partners in business. Massey's husband, Mark, wrote many of Lulu's hits. Her backing group, The Luvvers, was quickly dropped. In 1966 Lulu toured Poland with The Hollies, the first British female singer to appear live behind the Iron Curtain. In the same year she recorded two German language tracks, "Wenn du da bist" and "So fing es an" for the Decca Germany label. All of Lulu's Decca recordings were made available in 2009 on a 2-CD entitled Shout!, issued on RPM Records.

(extract from Wikipedia 2011) Lulu — Free listening, videos, concerts, stats and photos at Last.fm j-rock There are at least two artists called Lulu: 1) Marie McDonald McLaughlin Lawrie OBE (born 3 November 1948), best known by her stage name Lulu, is a Scottish singer and songwriter most known for the 1960s international hit record To Sir With Love . A native of Glasgow, Lulu shot to fame at the age of fifteen with her version of Shout , delivered in a raucous and extremely mature voice. Her backing group were called The Luvvers , but after several more… read more Lulu | Biography, News, Photos and Videos | Contactmusic.com Biography Lulu (born Marie McDonald McLaughlin Lawrie, 03.11.1948) Lulu is a Scottish singer. Childhood: Lulu grew up in Dennistoun, Glasgow. Her father was a butcher and a heavy drinker and she has said that her parents used to argue a lot when she was a child and have physical fights. She attended Thomson Street Primary School and Onslow Drive Junior School.

She began singing at a very young age and even had a manager by the age of 12 or 13 who had her appear with a band called Bellrocks every Saturday night. Musical career: Lulu signed to Decca Records when she was 15 under the management of Marion Massey. Her debut single in 1964 was a cover of the The Isley Brothers' 'Shout' with backing group The Luvvers and reached UK charts. In 1966, she toured Poland with The Hollies and she recorded tracks 'Wenn du da bist' and 'So fing es an' for the German Decca label. She signed with Columbia to launch a solo career and hit UK charts again with 'The Boat That I Row' in 1967. In 1969, she performed her song 'Boom Bang-a-Bang' on the Eurovision Song Contest and subsequently won. The song reached number two on the UK chart. In the same year she released her album 'New Routes' on Atlantic's Atco label.

In 1970, she released album 'Melody Fair' with single 'Oh Me Oh My (I'm a Fool for You Baby)' which was later covered by Aretha Franklin. In 1974, she recorded the theme song for James Bond movie 'The Man with the Golden Gun'. She also covered David Bowie's 'The Man Who Sold the World' which hit the UK chart at number 3. In 1981, she made a US chart return with 'I Could Never Miss You (More Than I Do)'. The following year she was nominated for a Grammy for her song 'Who's Foolin' Who'. Lulu has had hits on various labels including Decca, Columbia, Atco, Polydor, Chelsea, Alfa, Jive, Dome, RCA, Mercury and Universal. She has been associated with GTO, Atlantic, Globe, EMI, Concept, Lifestyle, Utopia, Rocket and Epic. In 1993, she released her album 'Independence' and all four singles from the record became UK chart hits.

In the same year she featured on Take That's cover of 'Relight My Fire' which reached number one and she subsequently embarked on their 1994 tour with them. In 2002, she released her gold certified album 'Together' which included duets with Elton John and Paul McCartney. In 2004, she released album 'Back on Track' followed by a 40th anniversary UK tour. In 2007, she released a 2 CD set of Atco recordings from 1969 to 1972 featuring some previously unreleased material. In 2009, she announced that she would be touring with Chaka Khan and Anastacia in a UK tour entitled 'Here Come the Girls'. Other Career ventures: Lulu released her autobiography 'I Don't Want To Fight' in 2002. In 1967, she appeared in her first movie 'To Sir, with Love' and also sung the title song which reached number one in US.

In 1968, she landed her own show which was titled 'Lulu's Back In Town', 'Happening For Lulu', 'Lulu' and 'It's Lulu'. Jimi Hendrix made a famous appearance in one episode by starting to play 'Sunshine of Your Love' despite it not being arranged. He continued playing even when the studio director signalled him to leave the stage. In 1975, she hosted the BBC's 'A Song for Europe' which sought the next artist to appear on the Eurovision Song Contest. In 1972, she appeared in the pantomime Peter Pan at the Palace Theatre in Manchester and the following year made an appearance on the Morecambe and Wise Show. In the 80s she had a long running show on Capital Radio station and she also appeared in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Song and Dance and the Royal National Theatre's Guys and Dolls. The show subsequently left her with damaged vocal chords that required surgery. In 1987, she played Adrian Mole's mother. During the 90s she made two appearances on the French and Saunders comedy show 'Absolutely Fabulous' as herself.

She later reprised the role in the 2012 return. She appeared in 'Whatever Happened to Harold Smith?' with Stephen Fry as well as reality show 'Just the Two of Us' as a judge. She became a mentor for season 6 of 'American Idol' in 2007. In 2010, she hosted the TV series 'Rewind the 60s'. In 2011, she competed on 'Strictly Come Dancing' with dance partner Brendan Cole. Personal life: In 1967 she had a brief romance with Davy Jones of The Monkees which she later described as 'innocent'. In 1969 she married Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees but divorced in 1973 due to career commitments and his heavy drinking. In 1974, she had a brief affair with David Bowie after covering two of his hits. In the 70s, Lulu developed an interest in Siddha Yoga. In 1977, she married hairdresser John Frieda and had one son, Jordan, before divorcing in 1991.

In 1979 she nearly died in a car accident that hospitalised her for a week. Her mother died of cancer leaving her father behind who then passed away in 1998. By 2000 she had changed her name to Lulu Kennedy-Cairns - her late mother's maiden name and she was then honoured with an OBE. Lulu supported Margaret Thatcher during her elections. Biography by Contactmusic.com Lulu at the BBC Music Awards held at the Excel Centre, London, United Kingdom - Monday 12th December 2016 Lulu and various other musicians perform a charity music tribute to the late Cream bassist Jack Bruce held at the Shepherd's Bush Empire on the second anniversary of his death.

London, United Kingdom - Tuesday 25th October 2016 Lulu leaving Apple Music Festival after seeing Britney Spears perform - London, United Kingdom - Tuesday 27th September 2016 Lulu - Mature Hairstyles Lulu Date of Birth: 11/3/1948 Occupation: Singer Lulu Kennedy-Cairns, OBE (born Marie McDonald McLaughlin Lawrie, best known by her stage name Lulu, is a Scottish singer�songwriter, actress, model and television personality who has been successful in the entertainment business from the 1960s through to the present day. She is most famous worldwide for her hit "To Sir, with Love" and in the UK for "Shout". Lulu grew up in Glasgow. Taken under the wing of Marion Massey, she shot to fame at the age of fifteen with her version of The Isley Brothers "Shout". Her backing group were called The Luvvers, but after several more British hits she left the group to become a solo artist. Massey guided her career for more than 25 years, for most of which she was Lulu�s equal partner as a business enterprise.

Massey�s husband Mark London also wrote many of Lulu�s hits. In 1966, Lulu toured Poland with the British rock and roll band The Hollies, making her the first British female singer to appear live behind the Iron Curtain. She left Decca after failing to place any singles on the chart in 1966 and signed with Columbia to be produced by Mickie Most who also hired Jimmy Page to play guitar on a few sessions. All of the 7 singles she cut and released with Most made the UK chart. In 1967 she made her debut as a film actress in To Sir, with Love, a British vehicle for Sidney Poitier. She had a major hit with the title song "To Sir, with Love", which shot to number one in the United States (In the UK, it was released only on the B-side of "Let�s Pretend", a No 11 hit.) In the meantime, she continued with a thriving pop career in the UK and several television series of her own. In 1967, Lulu appeared on The Monkees tour at the Empire Pool, Wembley.

On 29 March 1969, she represented the United Kingdom by performing the winning song "Boom Bang-a-Bang" at the Eurovision Song Contest. Lulu had the biggest hit around the continent with the song, recording German, French, Spanish and Italian versions alongside the original English. She once told John Peel backstage that although she did not like Boom Bang-a-Bang, she�d have sung anything just so long as she won the contest. "I know it�s a rotten song, but I won, so who cares? I�d have sung Baa Baa Black Sheep standing on my head if that�s what it took to win.... I am just so glad I didn�t finish second like all the other Brits before me, that would have been awful." Despite disliking the song, it was in fact her biggest solo UK hit (reaching number two on the chart in 1969). Only weeks before her Eurovision appearance, Lulu married fellow musical star Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees in a ceremony in Gerrards Cross. They divorced in 1973, but remained on good terms. .

In 1972 she starred in the Christmas pantomime Peter Pan at the Palace Theatre, Manchester where the show was a huge success. She repeated her performance at the London Palladium in 1975, and in different London-based productions from 1987 to early 1989. In the early 1980s Lulu appeared in Andrew Lloyd Webber�s Song and Dance and the Royal National Theatre�s Guys and Dolls. She damaged her vocal cords while performing in the Webber show, requiring surgery that threatened her singing voice. In 1974 she performed the title song in the James Bond movie The Man with the Golden Gun. Two slightly different versions of the song were used, at the start and end respectively - the end song actually name-checking James Bond. Also during 1974, she did a cover of two of David Bowie�s classic songs, "The Man Who Sold the World" and "Watch That Man". Bowie himself produced the recordings and played saxophone, and provided back-up vocals on it. There were also rumours that they had a brief affair at the time. Lulu confirmed these rumours in her 2002 autobiography.

Bowie, perhaps characteristically, evaded comment on the subject. "The Man Who Sold the World" peaked at number three on the UK chart, her first UK top 10 hit in five years and also her last until 1986. In 1977, Lulu married John Frieda, who was previously her hairdresser, and remained with him for twenty years until divorcing him in 1995, having separated in 1991. They had one son, Jordan Frieda. Lulu�s singing career waned, but she continued to remain in the public eye, continuing to act and host her own long running radio show on London�s Capital Radio station. She also became the celebrity spokes-model for Freemans fashion catalogue during the late 1970s and early 1980s. In 1982, Lulu appeared in the video for Ant Rap alongside Adam and the Ants and was nominated for a Grammy for "Who�s Foolin� Who" from the "Lulu" album. She won the Rear of the Year award in 1983 and re-recorded a number of her songs.

These included "Shout," which reached the Top 10 in 1986 in the UK, securing her a spot to perform on the popular BBC music programme, Top of the Pops. Lulu stopped recording until 1992, focussing instead on TV, acting and live performances. Lulu has had hits on many record labels both in the UK and USA. In 1993 she guested on the cover version of the Dan Hartman song "Relight My Fire", with boy band Take That. The single reached number one in the British charts and Lulu went on to become Take That�s support act for their 1994 tour. By this time, her marriage to John Frieda was coming to an end, and with the divorce, she released "Independence" in January 1993. The title track from "Independence" just missed the top ten and all four singles released from the album hit the UK charts, as did two later singles released in 1994. Now officially known as Lulu Kennedy-Cairns, in 2000, she was awarded an OBE.

Her 2002 autobiography is called I Don�t Want to Fight after the hit song she and her brother wrote with hit songwriter Steve DuBerry for Tina Turner, which is a song that Lulu later released in 2003, as part of her The Greatest Hits album. In March 2006, Lulu launched her official MySpace profile, where she could keep in contact with current fans, and reconnect with old ones. Lulu continues to act occasionally and appeared on American Idol Season 6 on 20 March 2007 as a mentor for the female contestants. She continues to pitch her range of "Lulu�s" anti-ageing products and other cosmetics through the QVC (UK) home shopping channel, using her youthful appearance as a promotional tool. After appearing at an ABBA tribute concert in Hyde Park, London, during September 2009, Lulu announced that she would be touring the UK in a "Here Come The Girls" concert performance alongside Chaka Khan and Anastacia. The trio have been promoting the concert series on UK TV, ahead of the first performance in November 2009, which will take in 20 different dates.

More Lulu Styles (Click for larger images) Lulu Lulu Lulu There are at least two artists called Lulu: 1) Marie McDonald McLaughlin Lawrie OBE (born 3 November 1948), best known by her stage name Lulu, is a Scottish singer and songwriter most known for the 1960s international hit record To Sir With Love. A native of Glasgow, Lulu shot to fame at the age of fifteen with her version of Shout, delivered in a raucous and extremely mature voice. Her backing group were called The Luvvers, but after several more British hits she left the group to become a solo artist. In 1966, Lulu toured Poland with the British rock and roll band The Hollies, making her the first British female singer to appear live behind the Iron Curtain. In 1967 she made her debut as a film actress in To Sir With Love, a British vehicle for Sidney Poitier. She had a major hit with the film's title song, which shot to No. 1 in the United States (in the UK, it was released only on the B-side of Let's Pretend, a much less successful hit).

In the meantime, she continued with a thriving pop career in the UK and several television series of her own. On 29 March 1969, she represented the United Kingdom by performing the song Boom bang-a-bang at the Eurovision Song Contest, and was joint winner with the representatives of Spain, the Netherlands and France—there had never been a draw before, and the rules were altered to prevent it ever happening again. In the same year, Lulu married Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees in a ceremony in Gerrards Cross. Their careers forced them apart, and they divorced, childless, in 1973. Lulu then married her hairdresser, John Frieda, and remained with him for twenty years until another divorce. They had one son, Jordan Frieda. She became interested in Eastern mysticism and joined Siddha Yoga Meditation. In 1974 she performed the title song in the James Bond movie The Man with the Golden Gun. Lulu's singing career waned, but she remained in the public eye, continuing to act.

In 1987, she played Adrian Mole's mother on television, and in the 1990s she made a comeback, guesting on the cover version of the Dan Hartman song "Relight My Fire", with Take That. The single reached number one in the British charts. She also appeared as herself in 2 episodes of the hugely popular BBC television programme Absolutely Fabulous. In 2000 she was awarded an OBE by the British Government. Her 2003 autobiography is called Don't Wanna Fight No More after a hit song she wrote for Tina Turner. In 2002 her gold album Together was a collection of duets with the likes of Elton John and Paul McCartney. In 2004 she released the album Back on Track and went on a UK-wide tour to celebrate 40 years in the business. In late 2004, Lulu became the host of her own 2-hour radio show, on BBC Radio 2, playing an eclectic blend of music from the 1950s to the 2000s, all having to do with the influence of songwriting.

In 2005, Lulu released A Little Soul in Your Heart, a collection of Motown Soul Covers and Soul classics, which entered the UK charts at #28. She has more recently appeared in the BBC's reality TV show Just the Two of Us in 2006 as a judge. 2) LuLu, a Japanese visual kei rock band, also tagged as ＬｕＬｕ. Unlike most bands with a theme, which is usually more cutesy, LuLu’s sound isn’t like most costumed bands with a darker image and harder sound. In addition to this unique doctor theme,Taa’s unmistakable voice is what makes this band stand out from the rest. "LuLu General hospital" is established in 2005. They don't call themselves as "band" , but as "General hospital" and they also call their "visitors" as "Patient". Their live music shows are called as "Meeting of medical examinations". They wear medical costume and play music, called as "Medication". LuLu announced that they would go major in April 2008 with their major debut mini-album Dr. Sterben, gathering popularity in the visual kei scene.

They also announced that on June 23rd they would open their official fanclub, ICU. Two limited singles were released the next month, Kusuri and Doku, and were the first of LuLu’s releases to make the Oricon weekly indies charts, appearing in sixth and seventh place. With no apparent break, they kept on going, releasing their first major album Nihon Iryu Kakumei a few weeks later on August 6th, with a tour following this release. In November, they re-released three of their sold-out releases from their time as an indies band. The year 2009 brought a huge change to the band. At their February 24th live, LuLu announced that Tatsurou, Kaito, Yu-ki and Shounari were leaving the band, but that LuLu would still go on with Taa. After this revelation, a new live was announced with the name of Resurrection of the Doctor, marking LuLu's second stage.

It was at this live on March 11th in which the new 'doctors’ were announced, with Sayuki as the guitarist of psychiatry, Yuki as the guitarist of internal medicine, Ryuusuke as the bassist of pediatrics, and Manami as the drummer of dental surgery. Lineup:

Question: What was the name of Lulu's backing group
Answer: The Luvvers